(31:1-54)
"Have you saved all the women alive?"
Under God's direction, Moses' army defeats the Midianites. They
kill all the adult males, but take the women and children captive.
When Moses learns that they left some live, he angrily says: "Have
you saved all the women alive? Kill every male among the little
ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.
But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with
him, keep alive for yourselves." So they went back and did as Moses
(and presumably God) instructed, killing everyone except for the
virgins. In this way they got 32,000 virgins -- Wow! (Even God gets
some of the booty -- including the virgins.)God's 26th Killing

God's command follows the attempt by the Moabites and
Midianites to curse Israel and when that failed their attempt to turn
their worship of God into the worship of idols, see chapter 22:4. This chapter chronicles the punishment that
the righteous God bestowed upon the Midianites. Again such a
punishment was for a very specific occasion and given directly by God
and to someone God spoke face to face to, and this cannot be
generalised in any way.
Notice that those who had “known men” were those that played the whore
with Israel, see chapter 25:6.

2
Avenge the children of
Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people.

3
And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves unto the
war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the LORD of Midian.

4
Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye
send to the war.

5
So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel,
a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.

6
And
Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of every tribe, them and
Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy
instruments, and the trumpets to blow in his hand.

7
And they warred
against the Midianites, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew all the
males.

They killed everyone they could, but no doubt many
escaped, and others might not have lived in the country at that
time.

8
And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that
were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five
kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.

9
And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian
captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and
all their flocks, and all their goods.

(31:9-10)
"And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian
captives, and their little ones ... and they burnt all their
cities."
They took the women and children captives, and burnt all their
cities.

As part of this singular punishment.

10
And they burnt all their cities
wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire.

11
And they
took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and of beasts.

12
And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses,
and Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel,
unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan near
Jericho.

13
And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the
congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp.

14
And Moses was
wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over
thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle.

The phrase “all women” should be
understood as meaning all that had known men, see verse 1, i.e. participated in playing the harlot with Israel.
And this has nothing to do with if Moses was meek or not. Israel here
was only functioning as God's executioner: the judgement upon the sins
the Midianites had been pronounced. Israel executed that
judgement.

16
Behold, these
caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit
trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among
the congregation of the LORD.

17
Now therefore kill every male among the
little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.

18
But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with
him, keep alive for yourselves.

(31:17-18)
"Kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman
that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children,
that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for
yourselves."What the Bible says about
Pedophilia

The author of the SAB has interpreted the
phrase “all the women children, that have not known a man by
lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.” as “It's OK
to have sex with "women children" that are obtained in
war. ”. I suppose it says something when someone jumps from
“keep alive for yourselves” to “have sex.”
Clearly this perverse interpretation would be against every other
verse in the Bible that deals with sexual relations.
Let's first of all make clear this is a singular instance, and can not
be generalised. This is a very specific command for a very specific
occasion. The command was to kill all adults who had had sexual
intercourse, and male children of this very perverse nation, see
verse 1. Secondly, as this verse distinguishes
between women children who had known man, and who had not, it
indicates that these Midianites practised paedophilia.
Thirdly, the Israelites themselves were severely punished for having
committed whoredom with the Midianites, see chapter 26:9. So this verse tells them to commit whoredom
again? That doesn't make any sense.
Fourthly, sexual intercourse is marriage: this is what marriage is. So
we can interpret this verse that they could marry these women
children, no doubt after they had come to a marriageable age. Or we
can simply read it that these children could be used as servants. Yes,
I know, slavery and all such. Just letting them die from hunger and
thirst would be sooo preferable, see also verse 29.

19
And do ye abide without the camp seven
days: whosoever hath killed any person, and whosoever hath touched any slain,
purify both yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the
seventh day.

20
And purify all your raiment, and all that is made
of skins, and all work of goats’ hair, and all things made of
wood.

21
And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war which went to the
battle, This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD commanded Moses;

22
Only the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the
lead,

23
Every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go
through the fire, and it shall be clean: nevertheless it shall be purified
with the water of separation: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make
go through the water.

24
And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh
day, and ye shall be clean, and afterward ye shall come into the camp.

25
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

26
Take the sum of the prey
that was taken, both of man and of beast, thou, and Eleazar the
priest, and the chief fathers of the congregation:

27
And divide the prey
into two parts; between them that took the war upon them, who went out to
battle, and between all the congregation:

28
And levy a tribute unto the
LORD of the men of war which went out to battle: one soul of five hundred,
both of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the
sheep:

29
Take it of their half, and give it unto Eleazar
the priest, for an heave offering of the LORD.

What? The author of the SAB reads human
sacrifice in these verses! He probably interprets verse 28 as if Israel should find 1 person out of every 500 and
sacrifice that person!
But although that is a very interesting interpretation, reality is
somewhat different. The persons mentioned in verse 28
are the captured Midianites which had not known men, and young
children. Leaving them to their own fate would have meant certain
death for many of them, with the Midianite men dead, and their cities
destroyed; and they were not to be punished as they had not
participated in playing the harlot, so were not guilty. These captives
were distributed among Israel: 1 in 500 would be given to the priests,
not as human sacrifice, but as servant.

30
And of the
children of Israel’s half, thou shalt take one portion of fifty, of the
persons, of the beeves, of the asses, and of the flocks, of all manner of
beasts, and give them unto the Levites, which keep the charge of the
tabernacle of the LORD.

31
And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the
LORD commanded Moses.

32
And the booty, being the rest of the prey
which the men of war had caught, was six hundred thousand and seventy
thousand and five thousand sheep,

(31:32-40)
"The booty ... thirty and two thousand ... women that had not
known man by lying with him."

As per verse 29 the women that had not
known men were not guilty of the crime of the other Midianites so they
were not punished.

33
And threescore and twelve thousand
beeves,

34
And threescore and one thousand asses,

35
And thirty and two
thousand persons in all, of women that had not known man by lying with him.

36
And the half, which was the portion of them that went out to
war, was in number three hundred thousand and seven and thirty thousand and
five hundred sheep:

37
And the LORD’S tribute of the sheep was six hundred
and threescore and fifteen.

38
And the beeves were thirty and six
thousand; of which the LORD’S tribute was threescore and twelve.

39
And the asses were thirty thousand and five hundred; of which
the LORD’S tribute was threescore and one.

40
And the persons
were sixteen thousand; of which the LORD’S tribute was thirty
and two persons.

41
And Moses gave the tribute, which was the
LORD’S heave offering, unto Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.

42
And of the children of Israel’s half, which Moses divided from the men
that warred,

43
(Now the half that pertained unto the congregation
was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and
five hundred sheep,

44
And thirty and six thousand beeves,

45
And
thirty thousand asses and five hundred,

46
And sixteen thousand persons;)

47
Even of the children of Israel’s half, Moses took one portion of fifty,
both of man and of beast, and gave them unto the Levites, which kept
the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.

48
And the officers which were over thousands of the host, the
captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses:

49
And they said unto Moses, Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of
war which are under our charge, and there lacketh not one man of us.

50
We have therefore brought an oblation for the LORD, what every man hath
gotten, of jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, and
tablets, to make an atonement for our souls before the LORD.

51
And Moses
and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even all wrought
jewels.

52
And all the gold of the offering that they offered up to the
LORD, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was
sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels.

53
(For the men
of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.)

54
And Moses and Eleazar
the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and
brought it into the tabernacle of the congregation, for a memorial
for the children of Israel before the LORD.